châssis

Forms

châssis m (invariable)^[1] Old French chasiz (about 1160) and chaciz (1372), later chassis.^[2][3]

Etymology

It is formed from French châsse + -is, the base being the old word for a case or box.^[4][2][1][5] This noun is from Latin capsa (“box, case”), which also meant “coffin” in Church Latin.^[5] The suffix ⟨-is⟩ is collective, for a frame made of several parts taken together.^[6] Littré gives the Picard cassis.^[7]

The English word chassis, first used of a window frame in the 1660s, comes from this word.^[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

As chasiz it is first found about 1160, in the Roman d'Eneas, meaning the frame of a window.^[2][3]

Semantic evolution

From the frame of a window it spread to other frames: one on which a canvas is fixed for painting (1372), and a wooden frame holding cloth, paper or glass (1535).^[2][3] From the 16th century, still with the idea of a frame, it took special senses in joinery (1532), printing (1611), architecture and horticulture, where it names a glazed frame protecting young plants (1694), the theatre, for a flat of scenery (1753), and photography (1866).^[2][3]

In the second half of the 19th century it came to name the frame carrying the boiler of a locomotive or the body of a carriage (1866), then the frame of a motor car (1888).^[2][3][8] From the car sense came the familiar figurative use for a woman's figure (1929), and the window sense gave a popular word for the eye (1803).^[3][2] In Canadian French châssis also means the whole window.^[3][9]

Timeline

• c. 1160 – Chasiz means the frame of a window in the Roman d'Eneas.^[2]
• 1372 – Chaciz is a frame for a canvas, in an inventory of the Dukes of Burgundy.^[2][3]
• 1535 – Chassis is a wooden frame holding cloth, paper or glass.^[2]
• 1611 – Cotgrave records the printing sense.^[2]
• 1694 – Corneille records the senses in architecture and horticulture.^[2][10]
• 1753 – The Encyclopédie uses it for a stage flat.^[2]
• 1803 – It is used in popular speech for the eye.^[3]
• 1866 – Larousse records the frame of a locomotive or carriage.^[2][10]
• 1888 – First used of the frame of a motor car.^[2][8]
• 1903 – The English word chassis is used of a car frame.^[6]
• 1929 – It is used familiarly for a woman's figure.^[2][3]

Meanings

Noun

1. A frame holding the parts of a surface in place (boards, panes, cloth, paper), such as the frame on which a painter's canvas is stretched.^[9][11][12]
2. The frame of a window or door opening, or a framed pane: châssis dormant, a fixed frame.^[9][2]
3. (Canada, regional) The whole window.^[9][3][1]
4. (horticulture) A glazed frame used to protect seedlings and young plants, a cold frame.^[12][2]
5. The chassis of a vehicle, carrying its engine, wheels and body.^[12][2]
6. (familiar) A woman's body or figure.^[3][2]

Related words

• châsse
• enchâsser
• caisse
• Latin capsa
• English chassis

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t Trésor de la langue française informatisé (2004), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/tlfi; electronic version of Imbs, Paul; Quemada, Bernard, eds. (1971–1994), Trésor de la langue française, Paris: CNRS / Gallimard
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
5. ^ a b Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
6. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
7. ^ Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
8. ^ a b Quemada, Bernard, ed. (1959–2006), Datations et documents lexicographiques (Base historique du vocabulaire français, BHVF), Paris: Klincksieck / CNRS / Champion; ATILF
9. ^ a b c d Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
10. ^ a b Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
11. ^ Dictionnaire Le Robert en ligne, dictionnaire.lerobert.com (accessed 2024)
12. ^ a b c Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)